Once August hits, it’s a different game for teachers. Some of our Southern friends are already back, and if you are in the North like me, it starts becoming a reality. I thought I’d give a big run down of some of the best things to get prepped and get for Back to School this year. Full disclosure – some affiliate links. This won’t change your price and I get a small kickback. No pressure!

Things To Do

• Create a list of procedures to teach. These make a huge difference in your classes running smoothly. Once students know what is expected, you can always refer to this pre-set standard operating procedure and it will guide them. 
• Set your calendar before you put any school things in there. Anniversaries, birthdays, important dates. Personal calendar comes first! 
• Plan school events backwards. If you have a deadline for a concert on the calendar, count backwards to find out when you need to do action items with enough time. Check out this post for a better explanation.
• Take a personal inventory of what you have that you actually need. This post is for “new teachers” but will apply to everyone!
• Reassess your boundaries. Do you need to be stricter with contacting you on nights and weekends? Do you need to not give out your personal number? Do you say yes to extra things too readily? Take a look at the boundaries you set last year and evaluate if you need to reset some. Check out this post to get more ideas on boundaries. 
• Communicate important things to your admin and team. Do you stress really easily on ‘see me after school’ without a reason being given even when you know it’s probably nothing? Do you need help with concert crowd control? What about changes to your performances from last year. Communicate things you want to change while everyone is fresh. 
• Make sure you have all the important documents ready to go. This checklist should help.

Curriculum

The number one back to school ACTUAL school thing to do is get your curriculum in order. I know it seems less obvious than an empty room, bare bulletin boards and some of the physically obvious stuff, but this is why we do what we do! Make sure that you set some time for yourself during your back to school weeks to do this undisturbed.

Take some serious time, sit down and get your curriculum in order. Plot out what needs to happen where, what you want students to know by the end of the year, and take inventory of what resources you have for planning. 

Spend some time refreshing yourself on what you liked, didn’t like, wanted to add, wanted to remove, and wanted to adjust in your classroom, curriculum, and everything in between. 

Check out this post to get more ideas for curriculum planning.

It’s also important to take the time to look over the things you might want to add or remove from your curriculum. Did you discover a song you use is culturally insensitive? Did you come across a great new game for practicing concepts? Take time to note these things now so you don’t forget in the midst of the school year.

While we’re talking about that, make sure you add things to your curriculum as you get them! If you’ve ever come back from a conference with a bunch of ideas that you’ve never implemented, I’d check out this post so you can remember to use them!

Essentials

• Make sure all your emergency info is in good condition and displayed prominently.
• Check to make sure all your school provided technology works.
• Check inventory on school provided consumable supplies in your room (writing utensils, paper, etc) and see if you need something to get it ordered ASAP.
• Organize your teacher area, files, etc. and set up places for documentation, record keeping, and such.
• Inventory your stuff. Make sure everything you personally own is listed in a document, and clearly marked with your name. Sharpie, and an engraving tool should cover most things!
• Get your class lists, set up your gradebook, update iDoceo, and create ensemble lists.
• Prep audition dates for extras like choir, performance roles, etc, school calendar dates and performances.
• Prep your emergency sub plans. 

Decor

• Print yourself a DND sign for your planning time. 
• Decide what’s wall things are essential, what are your daily needs, temporary needs, and what’s just fluff. 
  Here’s my thoughts:
  Essential: Legally necessary stuff
  Daily: rules, things you will refer to (word wall or pocket charts for a less overwhelming word wall), etc
  Temporary: Recorder fingerings if you only teach it part of the year, anchor charts that you refer to occasionally that don’t really need to be up every day. I’ve used an anchor chart stand so my room wasn’t overwhelmed with posters, and I still love it. Also – books – there are some gorgeous displays I’ve seen on Instagram, but unless you plan on actually using it during the month, it’s just more to look at that doesn’t necessarily need to be out on display, especially when you are displaying books for 6 grade levels. 
  Fluff: Cute stuff like banners, welcome signs, non-functional decor (things that don’t teach a concept). Keep these to a minimum or pick only a few to accent your room. They may be adorable but don’t let this stuff overwhelm your room!! If you really want all of them, rotate so it doesn’t become too much.
• Pick what you need and start there. It’s always easier to add throughout the year rather than spend all your time during BTS prep to over decorate and let it be overwhelming. 
• Think about any sort of mood makers you want in your room. Lamps, filters for UV lights, and plants all help make your room feel calmer and less industrial.
• Think about a calm corner, or a peace table. Read about peace tables here. 
• Check out a few helpful posts about decor:
  • Four Things to Know About Music Classroom Decor – considerations about what you put up and why
  • Must Have Requirements for Music Classroom Decor – some important things to include and not include!

Classroom Tools

Think about things you wish you had last year while you still have a budget…if you get one… (raise your hand no budget friends 🙋🏻‍♀️). Create an Amazon wishlist or a Donor’s Choose project to get some tools you’ve been eyeing for a while. Looking for inspo? Check out my Amazon Storefront here. 

Check out this post for ideas for materials you may want to add this year. Inventory what you really want in your classroom that might get used immediately if you spend some budget money. Word to the wise – save yourself some money for later in the year if you need materials!

Check out this post for manipulatives to cover a whole ton of things for under $30.

Paperwork

• Parent volunteer forms (check out this post for a good list of things they can do for you!)
• Calendar
• First week documents – student surveys, info sheets, parent forms.
• Back to school night/open house materials
• Emergency forms
• Pre-tests for necessary assessments, student learning objectives, growth goals, etc

Things to Review

• Classroom Management! The number one thing that can make or break your class. Review your policies, what works, what isn’t working, and what you may want to adjust. Read about some classroom management tips here. 
• Social Media – This is a great time of year to go through and clear out things. Remove people you don’t want to see all your things. If you have an account for your school music program or you as a music teacher, prep student release forms if you use student pictures. Check out this post for some guides on social media for teachers to protect you and your students.
• Take a look at any book ideas you may have saved over the summer. Did you see a new children’s lit book that you know will be perfect for a lesson? Save yourself middle of the school year time and order it now. Need inspo? Check out The Ultimate Music Ed Book List to see some of the new books that came out. 
• Take some time to reflect on your practices in the classroom. Are your students who have special needs having those needs met? This post from my friend Eric can definitely help you reflect on that. Check it out for some ideas on serving your special needs students. 
• Your bathroom plan for students.
• Set a professional goal that will help have a smoother year. Check out some ideas in this post.
• How inclusive is your classroom? Is there language you can use instead of your current norms? Here’s some tips.
• Google Drive – set it up now so you have order all year

First Week Things

• Learning names is super important. Pronouncing them correctly should have the exact same importance. Here’s a blog post with some books to help students feel comfortable with their names, correcting people, and embracing names that aren’t in the cultural norm of your school.
• Sometimes you just need a book to take away the back to school nerves. Check out this post with some good ones
• Name Games – because we always need some!

2024 Back to School Guide 

Here are some of my favs for BTS 2024! You can also find all of it in one place here. Full disclosure, some affiliate links. No pressure!

New Children’s Literature

There are always a BUNCH of new books I want to add, but here are a few of my favorites.

1. Raga’s Song – set around Diwali, a little girl with stage fright faces her fears and negative voices
2. Kailani’s Gift – Filipino, tinikling, practice makes progress
3. When Rubin Plays – a little boy wants to play violin and finds an appreciative audience
4. Piano Wants to Play – the piano is the star who wants to play and finds a new home
5. The Rattlin’ Bog – Barefoot Sings Books are fabulous to being with and this one is a favorite song
6. Danté Plays His Blues – After he loses his house, leaving friends behind, a boy’s uncle teaches him to play saxophone
7. History Comics: Hip Hop: The Beat of America – a comic where a hip hop fan gets a lesson in old school hip hop from her dad. Yes please!
8. Adela’s Mariachi Band – a young girl finding her place in the family’s mariachi band
9. Jazz Legends Alphabet – a jazz legend for each letter of the alphabet. Pick one a week and you have a semester of listening lessons!
10. Aloha Everything – a girl learns the true meaning of aloha as she begins to learn hula
11. If you are looking for more books, make sure you check out The Ultimate Music Ed Book List. You can sort by year to look for newer books!

Teacher Materials

1. Festive Music Teacher Planner and Organizer – All the documents you need as a teacher including several variations of lesson planning pages
2. Sub Tub Starter Set – All the paperwork you need for an organized sub tub
3. Music Class Essential Rubrics – Over 300 rubrics already made for you
4. Essential Music Teacher Checklists Editable – Keep yourself organized with easy checklists as well as editable templates
5. The Music Teacher Curriculum Planner – If you are constantly looking for a way to get your curriculum in order but what’s out there is so overwhelming.
6. Visual Schedule – An important tool for all your students, this one has 3 ways to display and over 110 different activities that may be on your lesson plan.
7. 32 Weeks of Listening – 192 musicians/composers total that represent a variety of cultures and genres.
8. Music of the Philippines – If you want to include music from the Philippines in your music classes, this set is for you. With more than enough info for several classes, this large set includes information about the islands, listening links to both traditional Filipino genres and for 9 famous Filipino composers and musicians, folk dance video links, a tinikling tutorial, video links for 4 more dances, and sheet music for 6 Filipino folk songs.
9. Folk Dance Formation Posters – top down views of formations have been a game changer for me! You can also get these pre-printed for you on Etsy.

Teacher Tools

1. Reusable silverware – keep it at school. No worries if you packed one and no using plastic all the time.
2. Pencil case – I’ve had this pencil case forever (at least 5 years) and store my chargers, external hard drive and adapters in it in my bookbag. It has truly stood the test of time.
3. This pencil is great for writing in small spaces. I got this when I needed a slimmer pencil for my analysis pages from a store in Portland in 2018 and I recently went looking online for another one because I lost it.
4. Rolling staff stamp – great for hand making worksheets which we KNOW takes less time than digital!
5. A perfect pencil cup/tape holder for a music teacher
6. A small tote bag when you need an extra hand.

Favorite Classroom Tools

1. 1000 pack of mini erasers – perfect for solfege manipulatives, this set is super inexpensive and will cover your whole class.
2. I will never not advocate for silicone wristbands for students to find a partner. (If you have green, you need a partner who is also wearing green or is wearing blue, etc.) Let’s students have choice but you can also control who that choice includes.
3. These dry erase folders are perfect so you don’t need to have 100 copies of worksheets and can reuse them.
4. Pocket charts – great for word walls that don’t cover the entire wall, displaying pattern cards, and other things like visual schedules.
5. Etching tool – these are amazing for marking recorders and last much longer than maker
6. Puppet set – if you need some fun puppets, this set is an inexpensive way to get a bunch in your room quickly.
7. Ukulele – a good ukulele for you so you can demonstrate, play along or whatever else you want to use it for!
8. Doorbell – I love a doorbell to be used as an actual doorbell. I could never hear students knocking when we were making music and this was a game changer.

Decor

1. Festive Elements of Music Anchor Charts and Classroom Signs
2. Festive Ukulele Posters
3. Vintage Concert Posters – these were a fun way to display a bunch of names right by the door. Make a display with who you will be featuring this year.
4. Festive I Can Statements and National Standards
5. Festive Music Rules
6. Festive Instrument Posters
7. The Music Beach Anchor Charts
8. Festive Chromatic Hand Sign Posters
9. Visual Choral Guide (Blue & Grey version)

Many of these come in various decor styles in my store.

Resources

1. Music Education for Social Change
2. Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education
3. Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE, and Other Special Areas
4. Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs
5. Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches
6. Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers
7. Teaching Music to Students with Autism
8. For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education – Full disclosure – haven’t read yet but I’ve recently purchased and it’s on my list!
9. Music Education and Social Emotional Learning

Splurges

1. Vineyard Vines Tote Bag – I had this bag for around 10 years and decided to put my son’s toys in it to visit grandma for the day. Then he started going into it every time he saw it so I passed it on to him and bought myself a new one with a different colored band because you would NEVER know that I’ve basically used it every day for 10 years. I carry laptop and such up and down stairs in it every day, for random trips out when I’m throwing things in the bag all day, and have used it during Michigan winters to haul in my things to school. SO WORTH IT.
2. External Hard Drive – I keep all of my stuff backed up here and it’s worth it for the peace of mind!
3. Cricut – I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Cut your letters for bulletin boards this way.
4. Mini Label Maker – While this is inexpensive, I count it as a splurge since your school probably has a label maker. But you can print from your phone. From your couch while you binge watch shows instead of tethered to the school machine.
5. iPad – Goodnotes, and iDoceo – editable notebooks, seating charts, easy grading lists. Worth it for this. If you digitize more of your work you will have WAY less to carry! I did all my notes for Level 3 on Goodnotes because they even have staff paper options. Worth it to have less to carry! You don’t need the fancy version and unless you have a hobby that justifies it, the basic version will do just fine. Or save even more money with a refurbished version. Yes splurge for the pencil as well so you have a good writing tool.
6. Portable mouse – This one can be used with an iPad or a laptop. I tend to shove my right shoulder forward when I’m working on my laptop and this helps me keep it in line.
7. iPad Keyboard Case – if you are using your iPad as a replacement for your computer, I highly recommend giving yourself a physical keyboard. they make all kinds of cases now with a bluetooth keyboard built in so you still keep yourself as a one tool carry item.

Teacher Self Care

1. Stanley – Ok. I know the insanity around Stanleys. BUT. I legit love this cup. I have 1 with a straw cover. I have not ‘packed it’ for anything, and am very happy with my ONE cup. I’ve put ice in this, left it in my car in the heat and still had ice later that evening. I use it for LaCroix (as I’ve talked about before) and it fits 3 cans with a little ice or 2 cans with a lot of ice. I don’t care about the trend, but I care that it has a handle, and keeps my stuff cold.
2. I bought this sound machine for my son. When he moved to his own room, we bought a second one because I couldn’t imagine sleeping without it now. I sleep better with this and a one year old than I ever did pre-pregnancy. Yes really.
3. Theragun mini – I have had shoulder issues for years. Slouching, stress, and being a side sleeper have really messed with my shoulders. This has really saved me as it gives me a way to take care of my trouble spots.
4. Sleep masks are my other sleep trick. Even when it’s dark out and my neighbor has their outside lights off, I sleep better when I wear this. I have a bunch of different ones I love and use including this one.
5. I’ve talked about my Ember mug before and how much I love that I have something so I don’t have cold coffee. I am a slow drinker and this allows me to enjoy warm coffee which we know is a luxury in the classroom.
6. If you aren’t into the electric mug, or want another mug that isn’t so pricey, I love this Yeti camp mug as well. Someone bought me one a a gift and it keeps my coffee warm at home.

I hope you’ve gotten some good ideas, some inspiration, and some ideas where to start!